


Coy Photographs

by magicianparrish



Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Boyfriends, Domestic Fluff, F/M, M/M, Photography, Post-Canon, Ronan's POV, based off a tumblr post i saw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-13
Updated: 2019-02-13
Packaged: 2019-10-27 07:44:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17762654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magicianparrish/pseuds/magicianparrish
Summary: “What are you doing?” Adam asked.Ronan stopped what he was doing, to stare at his boyfriend who was sitting at the large dining room table, on Ronan’s laptop typing away at something. Adam did not even have to look up from his screen.He put the Polaroid camera down, and let it dangle in his hand for a moment as he continued to stare at Adam.“How’d you know I was doing something?” Ronan questioned back.“Psychic, remember?” he teased.“That’s not how it works, and you know it Parrish.”Adam shrugged his shoulders. “True. But whenever that camera is in your hand, I never like what comes with it.”“What, you hate my photography skills? I’ll tell you, they’re fucking great.”Adam let out a small chuckle. “I never know what I’m gonna get when you take them of me. I’ve seen the ones you get of Gansey and Blue. They’re all hideous. I’d rather not have those of me too.”Ronan knew there was nothing underneath that statement, but he made it a challenge anyway for himself.________________________________________________________________________________________________________________or Ronan tries to take bad photos of Adam and fails.





	Coy Photographs

**Author's Note:**

> The announcement of the new Dreamer Trilogy novel has me back in my groove with the trc universe! 
> 
> This was based off a tumblr post that I saw by mooncvkes where Ronan tries to take photos of Adam but Adam always ducks or covers his face because he doesn't trust Ronan to take good photos of him, and I just ran with it. 
> 
> Not my best, but I still like the idea. And I have a snow day tomorrow, hence why I was able to write this all down today. Anyway, hope you all enjoy this little fluff piece! 
> 
> (Not beta'd or edited so all mistakes are mine)

“What are you doing?” Adam asked. 

Ronan stopped what he was doing, to stare at his boyfriend who was sitting at the large dining room table, on Ronan’s laptop typing away at something. Adam did not even have to look up from his screen. 

He put the Polaroid camera down, and let it dangle in his hand for a moment as he continued to stare at Adam. 

“How’d you know I was doing something?” Ronan questioned back.

Adam paid him no mind for a moment, as he continued to type away. The sounds of keys the only thing that was taking up space in the room. Finally, it stopped, and Adam lifted his head up over the screen illuminating his face in white light. All he did was arch an eyebrow at Ronan. 

“Psychic, remember?” he teased.  

Ronan scoffed at that. After he rolled his eyes, he looked back over to his boyfriend who was wearing a sly smirk on his face. Ronan loved that expression on Adam. The proof that Adam could be mischievous as much as he was serious. 

“That’s not how it works, and you know it, Parrish.” 

Adam shrugged his shoulders. “True. But whenever that camera is in your hand, I never like what comes with it.” 

Ronan crossed his arms and leaned against the entryway to the dining room from the kitchen. 

“What, you hate my photography skills? I’ll tell you, they’re fucking great.” 

Adam let out a small chuckle. “No, when you take photos of the Barns, they’re great. I never know what I’m gonna get when you take them of me. I’ve seen the ones you get of Gansey and Blue. They’re all hideous. I’d rather not have those of me too.” 

Ronan knew there was nothing underneath that statement, but he made it a challenge anyway for himself. Before Adam had even mentioned it, he never tried to get a bad photo of Adam, because he did not believe there was a bad photo of him. Now it was going to be his life goal to only get bad photos of Adam when he least expected it. 

“Oh no. I don’t like the look on your face right now. You’re planning something, aren’t you?” Adam accused. 

Ronan locked eyes with his boyfriend, who had a frown on his face now and his eyebrows pinched together. Ronan then walked into the dining room and went behind Adam, wrapping his arms around his strong shoulders and leaned down to sneak a kiss on his cheek. Then when Adam turned his head, he went for the lips. It was just a small peck, and Ronan did not allow it to go any further. 

Then he stood up and put his hands in his pockets. “Don’t worry about it, Parrish.” 

He heard Adam huff, and he had crossed his arms over his chest. “Those are famous words meaning I should worry about it.”   

Ronan shrugged his shoulders and turned to walk out. “Who’s to fucking say?” 

 

* * *

Ronan felt like he was sitting at a fucking conference. He did not like the way Henry and Blue were sitting across from him in this stupid café that had just opened up in Henrietta. It was too out in the open for people to watch him. It didn’t help that they had picked the meet up spot in the first place; he did not like the matching grins they had on their faces.

“This is a dumb idea, I don’t even know why I told you it in the first place,” Ronan said. 

Henry leaned forward and took a sip of his overpriced coffee. “Because we are your friends and confidants. Also, we want in.”

Ronan was suspicious. “Why?” 

“Because! That’s what friends do right? Mess with each other, and try to take as many bad photos as we can. It’s part of the deal. Also, it’s funny and amusing.” 

Ronan narrowed his eyes and scrutinized both of them. Blue took a sip of her strawberry tea, or whatever. There was definitely more to this than they were telling him. 

“What else are you two planning?” 

Henry leaned back and put a hand over his head. He made sure to gasp dramatically as possible, which made Blue laugh and Ronan roll his eyes. 

“Ronan, how dare you insinuate that we would be up to something. We just want to join in the fun of having bad photos of our friends and or significant others.” 

“Yeah, make sure to send those photos of Adam our way,” Blue tacked on. 

Ronan knew they were going to do something with those photos. He just knew it. And he could pressure them to tell him, but he wasn’t in the mood so he let it go. 

“Fine. See you losers later,” he said as he got up abruptly and walked out of the café. 

“Don’t do anything we wouldn’t do with Adam!” Blue shouted for all to hear. 

Ronan issued one last glare and a middle finger to boot before storming out of the place with Blue cackling in the background. 

 

* * *

 

The game of cat and mouse with Adam had been going on for just over a year now. Ronan would try to snap a photo of Adam when he wasn’t paying attention and thought no one was around to see him. But Adam seemed to have another invisible sense to go along with his stupid psychic sixth sense, which was he always knew when Ronan was about to hit the button to take a photo on his camera. He had tried everything to get some bad photos of Adam, but the bastard always turned away or covered his face somehow. He had tried to teach Opal how to do it because she was the sneakiest of them all, but she was always a hit or miss. He stopped recruiting her after she tried to eat the camera. He had even dreamed himself a polaroid that never ran out of film and was silent when it took the photos so no one would know.

Ronan had just come in from doing all his morning duties on the farm. He just so happened to walk through the living room and saw Adam sitting at one of the little table setups they had on the front veranda. A giant textbook on medical terms or whatever it was he needed to read for pre-med, was open on the table. Adam was hunched over it, scribbling notes in the margin and taking slow sips of his coffee out of the mug and also trying to balance a bowl of cereal on his lap. He figured this was the perfect time to try and snap a photo of Adam. 

He quickly got the camera he had in a little drawer and made sure to walk over as quietly as possible. He knew to try to go out the front door was pointless, so he took a little longer and went out a side door so he’d be able to at least sneak up on him. Ronan peered around the corner and saw Adam now trying to take a spoonful of cornflakes without spilling. His eyebrows were pinched together in concentration. The sunlight from the midmorning was shining down on his hair, making to reflect like gold, and his tan skin bright. 

“How the hell does this make sense?” he heard Adam mutter to himself around a mouthful of cereal. Then he put the spoon back into the bowl to furiously write something, probably his strong opinion on what he thought was stupid in that passage. 

Ronan then had an idea. He knew it would be an asshole move, but he was going to do it anyway. It was the only way he could think of to get Adam unexpectedly before that stupid seventh sense or whatever kicked in and blew Ronan’s cover. He crouched down and was ready to jump scare, Adam. 

A split second before he was going to do it, Adam perked up like he noticed something and then turned his attention to the same spot where Ronan was. He couldn’t actually see him, but goddamnit he could  _ sense _ him. His blue eyes narrowed in suspicion, and he shoveled another spoonful of cereal into his mouth. Ronan watched as Adam glanced around to see if he could spot Ronan, or Opal or even their friends who were not in Virginia at the moment. He hesitated before going back to his textbook, but now Ronan knew he would at least be aware of his surroundings now. There would be no way he could thoroughly catch Adam by surprise now. He would be listening for anything to give Ronan away now. Adam knew this stupid game they were playing, and he knew he was winning and would not give that title up now. 

Ronan decided to go for it. He jumped up from his hiding spot, shouting. He didn’t say anything in particular, just made a noise. Adam’s head snapped up at the same second, and then within another split second turned his head to the side and had his large hands covering his face from view as soon as Ronan snapped the photo. 

“God damn it, Ronan, I told you to stop doing this,” Adam complained from behind his hands. His Henrietta accent of full display. 

Ronan took the photo and shook it to get it to develop faster. “You always ruin my chances, Parrish. Let me win at least once.” 

Adam shook his head, his hair flowing like molten gold. “No way. I know that Henry and Blue want to see these photos and only God knows what they’re doing with them. Now go away.”  

Ronan vaulted over the railing and onto the porch towards Adam. He still refused to move his hands from his face. Ronan put the camera down on the table and tried to pry them so he could see Adam properly. 

“Take your stupid hands off your face,” he demanded. 

Adam scoffed and opened his fingers so he could peak at Ronan through them. “As long as that camera is nearby I ain’t doing that.” 

“For fuck’s sake,” Ronan grumbled. But he wasn’t mad at all. Adam was way too smart to take any chances. 

He swiped the camera off the table and textbook and went inside the house to put it back into the drawer before coming back out again. 

“You can show your face now,” he said. 

Adam hesitated, and when he saw that the camera was indeed gone, he lifted his hands off his face. He did not look amused by Ronan’s antics with the camera. Without breaking eye contact he lifted his mug and took a sip of his coffee. 

“Why do you do this?” Adam finally asked, his head tilted to the side. 

Ronan shrugged and grinned at his boyfriend. “Why do you play along?” 

Adam scoffed and picked up his pencil again, to turn his attention back to the textbook in front of him. “Stop being Socrates for like, one second, Lynch,” he muttered. 

Ronan took that as permission to come over and annoy his boyfriend even more. He practically dropped himself onto Adam’s lap and draped himself like a cat basking in the sun. Adam immediately made a noise of protest and bared his teeth, glaring at Ronan. 

“Question everything, that’s my motto,” Ronan said. 

“No, it ain’t. Now get off me!” He grunted. 

Ronan felt Adam try to get him off. And normally that wouldn’t be a problem, because Adam was damn strong. But Ronan had Adam’s arms pinned in an awkward position. Ronan just made himself more comfortable at the expense of Adam. 

“I’ll get off if you let me take one bad photo of you.” 

“You can’t just take bad photos, it has to be when you least expect it,” Adam countered. 

Ronan flicked Adam’s head, which he got a glare in return. Ronan was not bothered in the slightest. 

“Exactly, Einstein. I keep trying to get it, but that stupid psychic sense of yours or whatever seems to always tip you off when I’m about to do it.” 

Adam tried to shrug his shoulders. “Well, I can’t help that really, can I? Not like I can exactly turn it on and off whenever I feel.” 

“Okay. Well, how about you don’t listen to that little spidey-sense next time I try to grab a fast one over you, and then I’ll get up before you lose all feeling in your arms,” he compromised. 

Adam just stared at Ronan for a long second. His face was pinched up like he was trying to solve a puzzle and couldn’t figure out where the missing piece was. He shook his head like he was clearing his thoughts. 

“Okay, but why are you so invested in trying to get a bad photo of me anyway? I don’t get it.” 

“Because you made it a challenge, and you know I can’t resist those.” 

Adam seemed to remember when this all started and he rolled his head back to stare at the sky. 

“Oh for the love of-” he started, “Lynch are you serious?” 

“Deadly,” he responded with a vicious grin. 

“You’re impossible, really you are,” Adam sighed. 

“And yet you still put up with me, so no pity for the fool you are.” 

Adam struggled to get Ronan’s weight off of him once more. Ronan draped an arm behind Adam’s shoulders. 

“So you’ll let me take a bad photo of you?” 

“Yes, if it means you’ll leave me alone to study and get off of me.” 

Ronan smiled and pecked Adam on the lips before he heaved himself off Adam and back onto the ground. 

“Love you,” Ronan declared. 

Adam just grunted in response, but Ronan knew it meant he loved him too. 

 

* * *

Adam was a fucking liar. He still ducked and covered whenever he knew Ronan was trying to grab a photo of him when he wasn’t paying attention. And Ronan was going to call him out on his bullshit.

They were both in the grocery store. Adam was up ahead with the cart, looking down at the list of things he had written. Ronan didn’t even bother to try and decipher it, because Adam’s handwriting looked like it belonged to an ancient civilization. 

Ronan went ahead and grabbed a few boxes of extra stuf Oreos and threw them into the cart. Adam looked up from his list and his face pinched up with disdain but he didn’t say anything else. 

“You’re full of shit, Parrish,” Ronan finally decided to say. 

Adam grabbed a few boxes of rigatoni pasta and dumped into the cart before moving forward down the aisle. 

“What are you talking about, Lynch?” he asked. He didn’t sound too interested with what Ronan had to say. 

“You promised.” 

Adam turned towards Ronan. “I promised what, exactly?” 

“That you’d let me take a bad photo of you.” 

Adam crossed his arms over his chest, the piece of paper with the grocery list crumbling in his fist. “Really, that again?” 

“You said that if I stopped annoying you that morning, you’d let me get one bad photo of you. And I have yet to get one because you keep trashing my endeavors.” 

Adam then smirked at Ronan and turned to keep pushing the cart and grabbing various items off the shelves. 

“Next time get it in writing.” 

Ronan let out a stream of curses, which in turn got Adam to laugh, the type of laugh where he threw his head back and closed his eyes. Ronan loved when Adam laughed like that, but at not at this particular moment. 

“Should’ve been a fucking lawyer instead,” he muttered. 

“Nah, all lawyers don’t have souls and are evil,” Adam countered. 

“Yeah, and?” 

Adam got an indignant look on his face and shoved him. It was Ronan’s turn to laugh with his head thrown back. “So supportive you are.” 

“C’mon Parrish. Just one photo. One photo is all I want and then I swear I’ll stop,” Ronan practically begged. 

“I think you should just accept the fact that you’re gonna lose this war with me, and stop all together anyway,” Adam responded with a small smile on his thin lips. 

“Never.” 

“Well, may the best side win,” Adam said with a smirk and a wink. 

 

* * *

 

Ronan stared at Blue and Henry with an affronted look on his face. This time they were all in the Barns, in Ronan’s kitchen around the granite island.

“You did what now?” he asked, wanting them to repeat what had just come out of their mouths. 

Neither of them looked ashamed, and Ronan thought they should be. He couldn’t believe what they had been doing this entire time. 

“We made an Instagram for you and Adam! You’re like internet, famous now, bro!” Henry said with a jubilant tone. 

Ronan leaned forward. “What the fuck does that mean, Cheng?” 

“All those photos of Adam hiding from you, we put them onto an Instagram and added some lovey-dovey captions. Just for fun really, we didn’t think much would come of it,” Blue explained in terms Ronan would understand. 

“That’s like an unethical break of privacy assholes!” Ronan grit behind his clenched teeth. 

Blue scoffed and waved her hands. “Please, we’re not that mean. We put you two under pseudonyms, and Ronan your pretty little face was never seen. It seems the internet loves this type of romantic shit.” 

“Does Adam know?” 

Henry nodded. “Yeah. Turns out one of his friends from Georgetown stumbled upon it and told him about it.”

Ronan felt himself recoil back. “What? What the hell.” 

“He finds it pretty interesting, that’s probably why he’s been toying with you this long,” Henry said. 

“Plus, he just likes to rile his boyfriend up for fun,” another voice joined in. 

Adam entered from the back door, with Gansey in tow and wrapped his arms around Ronan’s waist. He smiled and kissed Ronan’s cheek. Ronan couldn’t help but feel annoyed with his boyfriend. 

Adam rolled his eyes. “Oh don’t give me that look. You started this whole thing in the first place. These two idiots over here just amped it up to a thousand.” 

Blue and Henry both gave beaming smiles like the cats that ate the canaries. Gansey entered the conversation at this point. 

“I do find the whole ‘internet sensation’ phenomena interesting, though I think Jane and Henry could have...gone about it in a more ethical way,” he pointed out. 

“Well, what’s done is done. Wanna see the account?” Blue asked, whipping out a phone from her pocket. 

Ronan rolled his eyes. “Do I really have a choice in the matter?” 

“Nope!” Henry chirped. 

Blue opened up Instagram and went to the account’s homepage. The username was  _ cabeswaterprotectors. _ Ronan scoffed at the name. 

“That’s lame,” he quipped. 

“You’re lame,” Blue bit. 

On it was just a bunch of photos of Adam doing various things in his daily life, while shying away from the camera. It was all screenshots of the polaroids. Ronan had taken over the past year and a half in the quest to get a bad photo of Adam. Blue tapped on one to get a better look. 

It was one taken in March when Adam had come home for spring break. It was unnaturally hot that week, meaning they had gone to the back of property and started up the mini pool they had created a while back. Adam was floating in the middle of the water in just his swim shorts, and he was in the middle of a laugh, but cover half his face with his hand. 

_ The Magician, enjoys this summer heat in Spring, but is still camera shy _ , was what the caption read. 

Ronan scoffed. “I would never write something like this.” 

“Well good thing no one knows it’s not you running it,” Blue responded. 

Underneath the caption was a bunch of other comments from random people and users he will never meet. All went along the lines of:  😍😍,  _ wow you two are so cute!!! _ And _ who is he??? _

Ronan turned back to look up at Adam who had a small smile on his face. “So you were playing with me the entire time?” 

“Not at first, but after a while, yeah. I think it’s fun anyway,” he admitted and gave Ronan a bright smile. 

“Plus, everyone deserves to see these very flattering photos of me,” he teased. 

Ronan let out a  _ psh _ noise. “Yeah right, you of all people? I’d better believe that Gansey hated Glendower the entire time.” 

“Hey!” Gansey protested, “that is not true. I would not have dedicated so much of my youth to find him if I hated him.” 

“God, man, you sound like you’re eighty years old. You’re literally only twenty-two,” Ronan responded. 

“Well anyway, that’s that. Who wants to go light a campfire?” Gansey suggested moving forward.  

Ronan got up and handed the phone back to Blue. He went to grab the camera and waved it in front of Adam’s face. “Still determined.” 

“I do admire your tenacity if anything,” Adam complimented, “now let's go light some shit on fire.” 

 

* * *

 

Ronan’s trump card came in the middle of the night. Adam was peacefully sleeping in the bed they shared as the moonlight shone on his skin in a serene light. Ronan carefully got out of bed and went to get the camera before coming back up. He made sure to tiptoe around so he wouldn’t wake Adam up, even though Adam had picked up some heavy sleeping habits over the years. 

He crouched down in front of Adam, where the light from the moon was coming in at it’s brightest. Ronan adjusted the settings on the camera so he could get it just right. He looked at his boyfriend in his slumber. His mouth was open, and a big pool of drool was gathering on his pillow. He let out some soft snores, and his hair was a mess. It was perfect. 

Ronan positioned the camera, and then he snapped it. He saw Adam twitch but did not stir. The photo developed quietly and Ronan shook it out. Ronan thought he was out of the clear, but then Adam blinked his eyes blearily. 

“Ronan?” he muttered, “the hell you doing?” His accent clipping the ends of all his words. 

Ronan held up the photo. “Checkmate.” 

It took a second for Adam to process it before he groaned and his head hit the pillow again. “Fuck’s sake, go to bed.” 

Ronan put the camera and photo on the dresser and made his way back into bed. He wrapped his arms around Adam who positioned himself closer to the source of warmth. 

“Night, Parrish.” 

“I’ll deal with you in the morning,” he responded as he fell back into sleep’s embrace. 

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you all liked it! I loved this idea of Adam being coy around a camera, and it eventually just escalating into a game of cat and mouse with these two very in love losers. 
> 
> I know my other works haven't been updated in a hot second, but alas the trials and tribulations of higher education/graduate school must come first. I shall hopefully get back to some of them in the future, but gotta make Adam Parrish proud first. 
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are always appreciated by me!


End file.
